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Book Review – Take One by Karen Kingsbury

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266167: Take One, Above The Line Series #1 Take One, Above The Line Series #1

By Karen Kingsbury / Zondervan

In the high-powered world of filmmaking, two unknown producers struggle to make a name for themselves. They have done the impossible – raised enough money to independently produce a feature film with a message they hope will change the world. With millions of investors’ dollars on the line, everything starts to fall apart and they realize they may be in over their heads, a couple of Davids in a world of Hollywood Goliaths. Is it possible to keep things above the line, to beat the odds and make a movie unlike anything ever done before? Or, will they lose everything in the process?

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This book is the latest by Karen Kingsbury and is the first in her new Above the Line series. Take One was a very enjoyable read for me.  The characters are genuine and it is easy to relate to them. The storylines are very good with though provoking issues interwoven throughout each one. My only “problem” with this book is that it left me feeling very unfinished. Which, obviously,  is a good thing since this is just the beginning of the series and more books are to come. I’m already looking forward to the next installment, Take Two, which is due out in early June 2009.

Sweet Noodle Kugel Recipe

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I just made my first sweet noodle kugel. It’s in the oven right now and I can’t wait to taste it. Here is the recipe I used:

Sweet Noodle Kugel

  • 4oz reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup skim or low-fat milk
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 8oz dry egg noodles cooked according to package directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Evenly spray a 1.5-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and ricotta cheese until light and fluffy.
  4. Gradually beat in sugar until thoroughly blended.
  5. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until blended.
  6. Gradually beat in milk, butter and cinnamon. Blend until smooth.
  7. Stir in noodles.
  8. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Smoth top and sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired.
  9. Bake 35-40 minutes or until the kugel is light golen brown.
  10. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Happy Friday!

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I woke up in a groggy state around 5:30 this morning. It wasn’t yet time to get up, but somehow I woke up just enough to wonder what day it was. I had to think about it because I had no idea. Somwhere in my sleepy haze, it came to me that today is Friday and that just gave me the happies. I caught another hour of sleep all happy that it’s FRIDAY!! Friday means that our weekend is about to start. And, this Friday means that Dana and I are going to see Kate Gosselin speak and we are SO excited about that. So WOO HOO…it’s Friday!! 😀

In other happy news, I have some more praises to post. This time about Miss Macey. When she came home yesterday, she was as happy as could be after school. She had been named “Character Education” winner for this month AND she brought home a great report card! Character Ed is an award her school gives to one child per classroom who exemplifies the attributes of the key character word of the current term. Macey’s character word is “commitment.” She is SO happy and so proud of herself for this award. Needless to say, we are very proud too! We sent in a 4×6 picture of Macey for the “Character Wall” at school. She also had her name read on the morning announcements yesterday and she will be in a group photo for the school newsletter. Also, we get to go and have lunch with her on Monday. We actually have the opportunity to eat lunch at school whenever we like, but this time it’s super special because we get to sit in a special area and have a special dessert. So exciting!! Macey’s report card was great too. She is just excelling in Kindergarten and absolutely loves it!

Mariana is watching her new Boz DVD (BOZs and 1-2-3s) right now. She got it as a reward for her potty training successes. She absolutely LOVES Boz! Both girls have loved him, but Macey is sort of hit or miss on it right now since she’s older and, thus, more sophisticated dontcha know?! 😉 Anyway. This new Boz DVD is a hit for Mariana. She asks for it every morning. So cute!!

Today is the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar being published. We love that book. Actually, we haven’t “met” an Eric Carle book we don’t enjoy. If you haven’t seen Google today, check it out. Their letters are shapes from the book. Very cool!! Here it is: caterpillar_google

I hope everyone has a GREAT day today! Enjoy this Friday! And, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend too!!

Blessings,
Kelly